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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chip — to eat
  3. net — after costs
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. net — for catching
  9. rash — a series
  10. capital — a city
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. net — in sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. can — a tin
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. rash — hasty
  19. can — a tin
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. capital — money
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com